Saturday, December 15, 2018

The 12 Days of Christmas! Wonder Woman from DC Universe Classics by Mattel

For the second day in this Christmas countdown where I'm reviewing one figure each from my 12 favorite toylines of all time, I'm checking out a Wonder Woman figure from Mattel's DC Universe Classics from 2008. Now, to be fair, I'm not just counting DC Universe Classics by itself when factoring it in as one of my favorite toylines of all time: I'm also counting Batman Unlimited, the DC Universe Signature Collection, DC Comics Multiverse, and multiple other smaller lines that used this same scale and style. DC Universe Classics lasted the longest, however, and it delivered dozens of unique DC characters rarely (if ever) seen in action figure form. I was trying to decide who to review so I asked my daughter, who is fascinated by my DCUC collection. She first suggested Superman but then decided that Wonder Woman would be a better choice. I agreed and thus we're reviewing the DC Universe Classics Wonder Woman. Originally released in the fourth series in 2008, this version of Wonder Woman is honestly one of my favorites. The DCUC line was expansive, fun, and incredibly diverse over the first few years of the line's lifespan. Let's take a look back at this incredible version of Princess Diana that is now over a decade old...

Accessories: Axe, shield, and the right leg of the Despero Collect & Connect figure.

Year of Release: 2008

Original Retail Price: $10-$11 dollars

The Positives:

* Back during the DCUC days Mattel didn't offer many character variants and this was the only version of Wonder Woman we received (she did have a figure variant, but it was actually Artemis). She is one of my favorites, though, and I love the bright colors and the very classic design. She reminds me of an idealized version of the various 1980s Wonder Woman designs and I love that about her. While many DCUC figures shared parts, Wonder Woman's torso was unique to her and features her breastplate armored "W" as a sculpted piece. She's also rocking her Bracelets of Submission as well, which is a cool touch.

* The headsculpt is gorgeous and it's easily one of my favorite female headsculpts in the entire line. Diana is quite lovely with wonderful paint applications on her eyes and tiara. I also love that her black hair has blue highlights. It helps it stand out and really feels very true to her comic book roots since blue is often used to highlight black details there.

* While it might be a bit dated now, the DC Universe Classics articulation style (which first appeared in the DC Superheroes line) still works for me and hits a nice balance between a well articulated action figure and a nice looking figure. She's fairly sturdy and is definitely fun to play with. I've never loved the H-hinged styled hips but they do make the figures fairly easy to keep standing.

* Wonder Woman is of course sporting her Lasso of Truth and it's attached to her right hip.It isn't removable but it's still a cool extra. Nowadays this wouldn't be as well received but back then I thought it was pretty slick of Mattel to include it.

* I love this shield. It's a very cool, highly stylized piece of armor that fits Wonder Woman oh so well. The stars are awesome and each of them gets a paint hit, too. Inside the shield is a rotating clip that fits on Diana's wrists. She looks awesome with this!

* Even better than the shield, however, is Wonder Woman's ax. Oh my gosh! This thing looks like it could be brutal, right? Imagine her tearing up some enemies with this! I love how it's designed to mimic the look of the armored "W" that is stylized like a bird on her breastplate. It's just such a cool design and it has always stood out to me.

* Mattel used the "Build-a-Figure" concept in DC Universe Classics, although they called it Collect & Connect. The series four figure was Despero and he really is a cool figure. Wonder Woman came with the right leg, which wasn't terribly exciting on its own but is obviously vital to building the figure. Maybe I'll review him someday.

The Negatives:

* If there's a downside to this figure, it's that Wonder Woman has some tiny arms. They're not just petite, they're far too thin and feel a bit weak. They definitely don't fit a powerful character like Wonder Woman, for sure.

I still love DC Universe Classics and Wonder Woman is still one of my favorites. Heck, I've reviewed lots of Wonder Woman figures on the site over the past few years but this is absolutely the one they all get compared to. She's a Great and a 1/2 figure and was a big part of the line during the years when it was one of the hottest lines around to collect. I have high hopes that Mattel will get the vibe of DC Comics Multiverse back to the quality and excitement that characterized the early days of DCUC. That might be wishful thinking, but you gotta have hope, right?